I have used it mixed with ballast on the outer edges to hold in the ballast on a slope… still in place 10+
Eric,
Judging from your picture “I think” you are over thinking! Hollywood’s insight is spot on IMO as that wood looks just fine to me. As stated just SPRAY (key word) on bleach and let it sit then hose off. Allow to dry off the ground on blocks for air movement underneath (or cause someone stole your wheels) when thoroughly dry just repaint.
Ok, this one has me pondering. Care to elaborate what a 1:1 coconut frog is? Or, pictures??
Cliff (@Cliff_Jennings ),
We have coated many a craftstick with TiteBond III. Horizontal ones exposed to the weather rot. Vertical ones simulating walls are holding up fine. Both structures have been outside since 2020, so it is a pretty fair test.
I will do as @David_Marconi_FOGCH and @Rooster recommend and spray with bleach, let dry, and paint. I will check out the cost of a preservative, too.
Still dealing with that attempted identity theft, so no material progress…
Eric
Yes, it is a misspelling! I meant to say “coconut frond.” The Palm of Spray Painting sheds the occasional frond, and one fell right on this little structure.
Eric
Wasn’t that a song by the WHO ?
Eric;
AW HECK!! And here I was hoping that a coconut frog was an insulated turnout part made from a coconut shell. (Probably too brittle to withstand all those large scale railroad wheels traversing over it!)
Still was funny, David Meashey
Update:
The building core got a thorough spraying with CLOROX. Here are some interior shots…
and here is an exterior shot:
Not a spot of fungus or algae to be seen! Thanks to Dave and Rooster (@David_Marconi_FOGCH , @Rooster ) for that tip.
The whole smells a bit like a public swimming pool, so it is busy airing out and drying up. This allowed me to have a “think” about proceeding. First, since we plan to move the control switches to the roof, the roof shingle will be insufficiently robust. We found some scraps that’ll correct that.
Cutting this to shape will give me a chance to battle Sabre Saw, too, which I’ve avoided for at least a year! The plan is to get things the same length, glue the lot together, punch a hole to drop the wiring, and leave it removeable so we can make repairs. I’ll worry about details later.
The other issue is that the whole thing is not level and rocks. We could sand it down, and I am sure it would end up as a slope that also rocks. Since the wiring harness will now pass through the area that used to hold the light switches, Kid-zilla and I decided to set the building on the Hardiebacker board it has sat upon for the last 7 years, shim it until its level, make it fast with construction cement, and seal it in place. Details to follow.
While I work all this out, we’ll pick out and replace any remaining damaged craftsticks over the course of the week. Hopefully, we can seal the core this next weekend. I found some oil based primer that should do the trick!
Have a Great Week!
Updates as Required.
Eric
Update:
Life, to include a nice staycation at this hidden spot called Waikiki, got in the way. Still, on Saturday, the 1:24 gang joined me to grind out all the remaining soft spots with a Dremel and to select wood to patch the holes.
We had to set this aside to dry, so I turned to other projects.
Before closing, note the church under repair in the background. Kid-zilla has been busily fixing the lighting, removing or repairing rotting wood, and replanking the frame. This was an initiative project he undertook out of need, not because I asked him. Good…gooooooooooodddddddd…
Back to the project at hand, I hope to get it replanked as necessary by the end of this week. After that, I will cover all exposed wood with an oil-based indoor/outdoor primer that I found in the shed before proceeding onto the new roof.
In addition, Kid-zilla and I have decided to use this project as an excuse to do some little side projects that’ll spruce up the yard area. This included rusting up some worn wheel sets and plastic “pipes” (actually old solar light posts)…
@John_Bouck had suggested moving Kid-zilla towards weathering. This seemed like a good start!
The other side project will be a poling car, made from the remains of the logistics cart for 1:24 Legio X Legio X passed into history this summer, but this scarred veteran of Consul Filis Maximus’ campaigns will serve on!
!
The green puts it in Triple O colors, but not so much that its Imperial use is hidden. It also needs to be functional, so it got new decking. Later, it got truss rods (shishkabob skewers), and it will get journal bearing covers. Handrails, pole holders, brake handle, whatever will go on as we go…and I get stumped on the project I am supposed to be doing!
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
2 Likes
OK, I admit it, the weather was so good I went diving rather than advancing this project. Now, I am on a backshift, so it again sits idle. Still, the last of the electronic parts are on order, which is progress of sorts!
Eric
Update:
We had a weekend of a million errands, which was perfect for incremental progress across a swath of projects. For this one, it was time to close up the gap where the old light switches used to be. The 1:24 gang (the unions decided both Triple O crew and “Digger Men” had rights to the project) set to work turning tongue depressors into planks…
…and mounting those planks over the gap using construction adhesive.
I forgot these wider craft sticks can bend in contact with some glues, so despite some clamping, there is some warp.
I’ll brace this wall on the backside, then I’ll bore a hole for the electrical “cabling.” After that, I will attach the posts for the tower platform before priming the whole thing. I found some plywood which will probably make a better roof than the spare boards previously identified, but I will have to us Sabre Saw (shudder 
).
Meanwhile, the companion project, the Roman legion logistics cart to poling car transformation, lurched forward, with an attempt to punch bearing caps from styrene. First, the 1:24 gang and I learned that:
- a.) The hole puncher should be empty of other waste.
- b.) White styrene is virtually indistinguishable from white paper.
Then, we found the process failed, anyway…
…so we fell back on a template and sharp scissors.
A bit of black paint, and that’ll do! Next up will be some lettering and lots of weathering.
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
here an alternative way:
using handles from BIC razors plus plastic caps
3 Likes
Korm,
That’s no good, the BIC plastic plugs resemble a journal bearing. That flat car needs to ride on highs peed roller bearings as represented. Paint them caps dark blue and add 3 black dots with a sharpie in a triangular pattern and call it done. Besides if the boy is shaving already he’s gonna look like a gorilla by the time he is 20!
Update:
Slow progress. I’ll blame odd work schedules…and the call of the ocean…and the end of the summer dive season…and some rocketry…In all honesty, I had lots of packets of time, but not to do the steps that need to happen next. The exception being working with Kid-zilla and the 1:24 gang to cut the timbers for the observation tower.
I located a piece of plywood to hack into a roof.
I cannot wait to again attempt the vaunted straight line cut! The roof has to be durable enough to support the switches that will control the track power and removable to facilitate maintenance of the wiring. There is plenty of this plywood busy not being used, so I might as well see if it’ll fit my purpose!
In actual work, I did seal all gaps with various outdoor grade caulking glue. Those areas that trapped water had the worst rot. Now, those pockets are filled with outdoor grade caulking glue! This means I am set to prime the core building as well as the tower supports. As this next weekend will have larger time packets, I hope to get that done, and Kid-zilla and I hope to rig the wiring.
One other item got done. I debated replacing the oversized window frames. This was our first MIK (2018!), so I opted to preserve the frames that I could and replace the parts that were too far gone with similar goofy sizes. As with other rebuilds, I have opted to make preserving the builders’ intent as part of the desired outcome of this project.
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
Update:
I conscripted to Kid-zilla to prime the core and the main support beams over the course of the weekend. After masking the windows, he set-to with some left over oil-based primer and disposable brushes.
This proved to be an outrageous mess over two days, and he found that brush painting was neither as fun nor as “easy” as spray painting! I did step in here and there to help him, and it was sort of funny that what took me moments took him frustratingly long (to him) minutes.
The net result was a nicely primed core that will give it a bit of extra protection when it returns to Pu’uoma’o! Next, we’ll attach the platform supports using wood screws. These supports proved weak points over the years, succumbing to falling palm fronds, Acts of Dog, and rot. So, after much hemming and hawing, I decided on screws to make them easier to replace. Hopefully.
Oh, and if you might be wondering, while all this action was occurring, I was clearing the picnic table of at least a half dozen other projects. One is mine, a rocket from a friend’s surplus stock looked like an easy project between projects…in the box…
This rocket has been a real space and time eater this summer, and I admit it has impacted progress on the tower!
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
1 Like
Update:
I hate using saws, so I’ve been blowing this project off. In addition, there are multiple rockets and a locomotive under construction on the lanai table, so there was no room to work. Then the 1:24 gang from the Triple O shops reminded me I could work on the floor…
I had previously marked where I’d drill tap holes for the tower supports. The 1:24 gang wisely checked my measurements.
Again, I elected to screw these in place rather than glue them for both durability and replaceability. The originals snapped multiple times over the years.
Despite my far-from-vertical tap holes (I need to get one of those Dremel stands!), the crew got the beams in place.
One did split…
…but it was nothing some TiteBond III and clamps couldn’t fix.
In short order, all four were in place.
At that point, the afternoon sun, which had driven us ever deeper into the lanai, found us, and it was time to knock off work.
Next, I will have to convert that plywood into a roof. Sabre Saw is already giving me an evil grin…
Eric
Update:
The 1:24 “digger men” and I had the lanai to ourselves. It was time to address the roof.
There were, of course, careful measurements…
…followed by a check to make sure the chosen timber was square-ish.
Afterwards, I elected to challenge Jig Saw to battle, so the 1:24 lads clamped the board to the table and prepped Jig Saw
We did position the building on the board before cutting, and, after adjusting the cut lines a bit, set to. BEHOLD! A not awful cut!
I offset this nominal success by absolutely tubing some measurement or another.
Enlarging the notches to clear the beams left some pretty big gaps.
So at that point, I cut the crew loose to have a think. First, I remembered my design elements:
- Sturdy enough to hold the electrical switches.
- Removable so I could fix and replace wiring.
Thinking produced no answers, so I went to replacing broken couplers (broke parts sorted and stashed for future projects, just not a functioning couplers! The Triple O wastes nothing!). This let me end the session on a high note.
A trip to the hardware store later that day may have provided a solution. I found this in the moulding section.
There is a solid plastic lip I could secure to the roof with screws. The lattice would hide the rough edges of the plywood and be sort of decorative. Some crafstick decking could at least minimize and regularize the gap near the beams, while leaving enough space to wiggle the roof off if need be.
Hmmmm…Open to suggestions, but I think this may be my way forward. It should work, and it will land this project back where it started, functional yet whimsical.
Eric
Update:
That plastic molding thing worked pretty well! It cut easily, and it hides mistakes from 7 years ago and mistakes from 7 days ago equally well.
Next up is some craft stick decking, a few more external “braces,” and the wiring! I am in my happy place again in terms of tools, materials, and techniques! Yay!
Opal, of course, was not impressed…
Updates as progress merits!
Eric
Update:
In between a myriad of other activities last weekend, the 1:24 gang and I began to turn the plywood into a roof. I am in my “happy place” of craftsticks, TiteBond III, and various cutters. The crew and I quickly measured and cut the “timber.”
Then we made it fast with TiteBond III. I have tried to eyeball this sort of thing before, only to have alternative perpendicular angles, so this time I drew a bunch of guidelines before commencing Operation CUT’N STICK.
I have what I need to plank the roof over the week when and as I get time. The goal is to stain his weekend so it can dry it while I dig out the electrical stuff that I bought. I am going more slowly than usual to make sure that I don’t do something that will preclude access to the wiring later if repairs are necessary. The plan is to fix this a Hardiebacker base to facilitate moving it on and off the railroad, so that roof doe have to slide open.
This has to be done before Thanksgiving, as there is a moratorium on projects during the Thanksgiving-Advent-Christmas seasons. Too many family dinners coupled with the Christmas tree make projects an unsafe bet! I think that I am on track to have this up and functional if not fully painted and fitted out. We’ll see…I have one last rocket to get out of spacedock and a few Kid-zilla projects to monitor, too.
Updates as Progress Merits.
Eric
Update:
The roof is planked and stained. It is enough to give it a finished look from afar, and it is enough to be consistent with the core’s chunky character. I am not spending too much time on this as its main point of the roof is to hold the switches that will send power to the tracks. The emphasis on functionality, accessibility, and portability are driving my thoughts on how to move forward.
Eric